A general elevator device includes a driving means arranged to move an elevator car in an upward direction and in a downward direction along a hoistway, and a guide means arranged to stably move the elevator car in the upward direction and in the downward direction is so that the elevator car is not deviated from an appropriate position in the plane surface, and is not inclined. For example, the guide means includes a pair of guide rails disposed within the hoistway along the upward and downward directions, and roller guide assemblies which correspond to the respective guide rails, and which are disposed, respectively, at positions above and below the elevator car. Each of the roller guide assemblies includes a plurality of rollers arranged to be rolled on a plurality of guide surfaces of the guide rails.
There is known a conventional elevator device of, for example, a patent document 1. This elevator device includes a pair of guide rails disposed in the hoistway in the vertical direction. The roller guide assemblies are provided at upper and lower two portions of the guide rails. The roller guide assemblies are disposed on a left side and a right side of the elevator car. The elevator car is provided with four roller guide assemblies. Each of the roller guide assemblies includes three rollers engaged with the guide rail. Each of the roller guide assemblies is provided to be swung in the horizontal direction. That is, a rotation shaft is rotatably provided on the base. A base end portion of a lever arm protruding in the upward direction is connected to one end of the rotation shaft. Each of the rollers is rotatably supported at a tip end portion of this lever arm through an arm end and a roller shaft. These rollers are urged toward the guide rail by a suspension assembly including a spring. Moreover, a friction damping sub-assembly is provided, as a damper, at the other end of the rotation shaft.
In this conventional structure a swinging mechanism for supporting the rollers to be swung is needed for providing the suspension sub assembly (the urging mechanism) and the friction damping sub assembly (the damper), even though the movable size of the roller urged toward the guide rail is small. The structure of this swinging mechanism is complicated. Moreover, this needs much space. Moreover, two shafts of a roller shaft directly supporting rollers, and a rotation shaft for swinging the roller in the horizontal direction, and bearings for these two shafts are needed. A cost of components constituting the swinging mechanism is high.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a roller guide assembly and an elevator car which do not need a swinging mechanism, an urging mechanism, and a damper.